The most UNDERRATED movies of all time

[Guest JumpinJackFlash]

Howyadoin! I have this topic spinning through my head. Its about what movies are the most underrated of all time. I don't mean which movies are deemed "suckass" and you like, I mean great movies that are not given the recognition it deserves.(AFI's 100 Movies for example) Get my drift? Okay.....I decided to pick one from 1940s and on.(Only because I can't think of any underrated movies before 1940.) So, here are a bunch of great movies(in my opinion) that don't get the respect they deserve.

 

40s-Rope(1948):This is an excellent HItchcock movie. Has anyone on this forum even seen it? I don't know. The entire movie is set in an apartment. Unlike almost every freaking movie ever made, Rope was filmed by having eight 10-minute takes. This was a brilliant move, and very innovative. The editing made it look as though the movie was filmed in one 80-minute take. This is a great suspense film about two college kids who kill a classmate and hide his body in a chest. But a party takes place later, with the body being placed in the chest, which is used for a buffet table! Very great acting, but you usually get that from James Stewart. Why this isn't in the top 5 Hitchcock movies sickens me.

 

50s-12 Angry Men(1957):What?! This movie is not in the top 100 movies ever made list made by AFI? I'm going to go beserk! In all seriousness, though, this movie is just amazing. This movie is similar to Rope in how its mostly filmed in one place the entire movie. How can you make a movie exciting without any fights chases across far places? This movie is how you can do that. 12 Angry Men is about 12 jurors trying to reach a verdict. When they think its an easy decision, one juror votes not guilty, and it all goes from there.Great performances by Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb in the BEST movie of 1957! Why this didn't win best picture makes me shocked as much as the SHOCKMASTER! Oh, and one more thing, this is directed by Sidney Lumet. He also directed The Verdict and Network.

 

60s-The Great Escape(1963):Now is the best time to rerelease this movie into theaters. One thing, its the 40th anniversary, and secondly, a video game based on this movie just came out. I'm waiting for a Special Edition DVD anytime MGM starts to give a fuck about this movie. For some reason I always relate this movie to 12 Angry Men. Maybe because they're very close to each other on my favorite movies list. And maybe this too was ignored by AFI. How's this for a disturbing fact? AFI nominated 400 movies to be voted on for their Top 100 List. Not only did this movie not make the top 100, but this movie didn't even make the top 400! What's up with that? This movie is probably the greatest adventure flick ever made. Steve McQueen rocks! If you don't know what this is about, The Great Escape is based on a true story about POWs plan a big escape out of a POW Camp in Germany, in WW2.(The Sequel to The Big Hit WW1!) This movie is probably one of the top 50 american movies ever made. Actually, this is probably the most underrated film of all time!

 

70s-Enter the Dragon(1973):There ya go! I said it! Hit me with your best fake kick! I don't care! This is a very underrated film, even getting some criticism. Probably the only one on here that more than 10 people hate. But, by the way, this is an excellent film! I saw this not too long ago, and I was shocked liked the SHOCKMASTER that this movie is 30 years old! It has some awesome action. Unlike, Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee is a serious motherfucker in his films. This movie is about a martial arts tournament being held by a tycoon by the name Mr. Han.(This leads to the best line in the movie:Bullshit Mr. Hand man!)Bruce Lee has some awesome fight scenes in this movie, along with everyone else. Am I the only one here who thinks John Saxon kicks ass?

 

80s-Gandhi(1982):Great movie! An epic of Lawrencian proportions! Sure, this is not as good as Lawrence of Arabia, but it certainly deserves to be in the top 100 movies list. This movie tells the story of Mohandes Gandhi and his quest to free India by using non-violent methods, Ben Kingsley is great as Gandhi, who goes from 20 to 80 in one film. Great makeup job there! This won best picture of 1982, so you may say this is the most overrated of the most underrated on my list. Does that make sense? Anywho, this movie is not on par with Raging Bull(The best film of the 80s), but its close. Besides, Raging Bull does get the recognition it deserves, unlike Gandhi. Besides, the 80s sucked ass in film, but kicked ass in a 2002 video game!

 

90s-Glengarry Glen Ross(1992):Hello, Mcfly! Have you heard of this movie? I'm glad I did. The greatest perfomances of the greatest cast makes for ONE OF THE greatest movies of the 90s. Let's see, who's in this? There's Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacy, and Alan Arkin(Who ruled as the detective in Gattaca). This film is about real estate, which may turn off some people, but believe me this is a great movie. Its about struggling real estate agents(or some other guy...I don't know all there terms) who have to sell dead beat leads or else THEY"RE FIRED! Oh and one more thing, the Glengarry leads which are pure money right there, are for CLOSERS only! "Fuck me! That's my name!"

 

2000s-Minority Report(2002):Excellent science fiction action adventure film noir flick! Most of you have seen this movie....probably. Its great. I'm not the biggest Cruise fan, nor am I the biggest Spielberg fan, but I am a big fn of this movie. Precrime predicts a murder before it happens, but what happens when somone in precrime in predicted to commit a murder within 48 hours? Interesting stuff that leads to a wild ride throughout futuristic Washington, D.C. The musical score is great, I might add. And I liked the ending. Plus, Max Von Sydow is in this film, which is a big plus. Hmmm, Minority Report or Chicago? Hmmm.....No Contest! Minority Report is the best film of 2002!

 

There is my list. Like it or hate it, respect the fact that I wrote a lot. And because I have an opinion. I may have forgotten a movie, or I may not have seen it, so send me your thoughts on the most underrated films of all time. And if anybody wants to add ones from the 30s, 20s, and 10s, that's fine with me.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

For the 90's it's either Searching For Bobby Fischer or Nurse Betty.

[Guest Fook]

I don't think the majority of those are underrated.

 

I've never seen Rope, but I don't think any of the other ones deserve to be on this list. Except for Glengarry Glen Ross and Minority Report (both of which are too recent), the rest are considered classics. Hell, Ghandi even won best picture, how does that make it underrated?

 

Just because the movies aren't on an AFI list doesn't mean they're underrated by the general public.

 

 

And I agree that Searching for Bobby Fisher is underrated.

[Guest JumpinJackFlash]

I've never seen Rope

 

Go to your video store.....NOW!

 

Hell, Ghandi even won best picture, how does that make it underrated?

 

Okay, you want a different 80s movie? How about The Empire Strikes Back? Excellent movie, and probably the greatest movie sequel ever.

 

For the 90's it's either Searching For Bobby Fischer or Nurse Betty

 

There ya go. I've never seen these two movies.....but LaurenceFishburne is in Booby Fischer, so I should rent that some time. Fishbourne is the shit!

[Rendclaw 0]

The mirror thread had everyone pooh-poohing Star Wars as overrated, I would love to see how the same could say that ESB is UNDERRATED.

[Guest El Satanico]

Hell, Ghandi even won best picture, how does that make it underrated?

 

Okay, you want a different 80s movie? How about The Empire Strikes Back? Excellent movie, and probably the greatest movie sequel ever.

Tell me you didn't just claim that a Star Wars movie is underrated.

 

I'm a Star Wars fan, but the movies are overrated if anything.

[Nighthawk 0]

Enter the Dragon and Glengarry Glen Ross get plenty of acclaim from where I sit.

 

Let's see, a movie I think is underrated... Bound. It has some weirdly out of place lesbian sex scenes, but other than that, great.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

For the 90's I'd go with Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. I know it got love, sometimes a lot of love. That still wasn't enough love. That movie is flat-out one of the best ever.

[Guest Ray]

The Empire Strikes Back? Excellent movie, and probably the greatest movie sequel ever.

What about Godfather Part II?

 

 

 

 

Some underrated films, I say:

 

A Midnight Clear (1992) - Excellent, surreal World War II film, gets very little attention. Great ensemble cast and compelling plot.

 

Savior (1998) - Dennis Quaid's awesome performance steals the show. Tragic story of a man fighting in the Yugoslavian war after losing his family. I'd say it's the best Quaid performance I've seen. Never hear much about this film.

[WrestlingDeacon 0]

I don't have time now, but don't think I'll be able to come up with some truly underrated films when I get off of work tonight.

[SpikeFayeJettEdBebop 0]

I would have to say "Following"-1998...A great film, that most likely not alot of people have heard about......

[nl5xsk1 0]

Most underrated movie of the '90's: American Me. It's a gangster epic that's centered around Latinos rather than Italians or African Americans (both of which are overrused in these types of movies, both are like a cliche now).

 

Edward James Olmos is awesome in it, the writing is great, the plot covers an entire lifetime without seeming rushed or anything.

 

Easily the most underrated movie of the 90s.

[razazteca 0]

If you want to talk about latino gangster epic movies than Blood in Blood out is the one to talk about.

 

Spoiler (Highlight to Read):

Never trust the white man

[Guest JumpinJackFlash]

What about Godfather Part II

 

Thats why I said probably the greatest sequel when talking about ESB. Personally, Godfather Part 2 is my favorite sequel.

[Zack Malibu 0]

Nurse Betty came out in late summer/fall of 2000.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Then I guess I have picks spanning 2 decades.

[the max 0]

One movie that I happen to enjoy is Quick Change with Bill Murray, Geena Davis and Randy Quaid. Not really well known, but a very funny, cynical comedy.

[ArkhamGlobe 0]

Thumbs up for the mention of Quick Change, I love that movie.

 

There are loads of films out there that would probably qualify for my list. I don't know if The Outlaw Josey Wales would qualify for most people, but I think it mostly gets rather overlooked, and personally I would rate it among the great post Leone/Peckinpah westerns. I could probably think of more Eastwood movies that I'd consider underrated.

 

John Boorman's Point Blank usually gets some recognition, but enough, in my book.

 

For a more recent film, I'd probably go with Wonder Boys. Wonderful movie that gets overlooked most of the time.

 

I don't have much time at the moment, so I'll have to return later.

[godthedog 0]

For the 90's I'd go with Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. I know it got love, sometimes a lot of love. That still wasn't enough love. That movie is flat-out one of the best ever.

wasn't that released in 2000?

 

what's our definition of "underrated" here? are we talking great shit that everybody else doesn't like or great shit that everybody else hasn't seen?

[Guest El Satanico]

I surprised no one has said Shawshank Redemption yet.

 

The critics and most of the people who have seen the movie like it, but it's overlooked amoungst the general public.

 

 

what's our definition of "underrated" here? are we talking great shit that everybody else doesn't like or great shit that everybody else hasn't seen?

 

I'd say both. Underrated and Overlooked are close enough to include both definitions.

[godthedog 0]

eh...overlooked is far too easy to do. if everybody who knows a certain movie thinks it's a great movie, i have a hard time calling it underrated.

[Ripper 0]

Waterworld...

 

 

Thats right, I said it.

 

 

This movie is mentioned in the same breath as Glitter and Gigli. It is spoken about like it is one of the worst movies ever filmed, when in fact it is a very good film that got a TON of bad press because of the budget. People to this day who never even saw the film call it trash and say that it was a bomb which is simply not true.

 

So, its not a GREAT film, but a good one that gets considered one of the worse. So I would have to say it is ver VERY underrated.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

The thing that I'll always remember about Waterworld is walking out of the theater with friends and them saying "That wasn't worth 150 million dollars" and thinking...it only cost ME 3.50...

[Ripper 0]

The thing that I'll always remember about Waterworld is walking out of the theater with friends and them saying "That wasn't worth 150 million dollars" and thinking...it only cost ME 3.50...

Thats the only reason I can think of why this film catches hell. Everyone thinks of the budget and says "That didn't look like the most expensive movie ever". But they never mention the quality of the film. If it took a million dollars to make, it would be called a very good film.

[Guest El Satanico]

eh...overlooked is far too easy to do.  if everybody who knows a certain movie thinks it's a great movie, i have a hard time calling it underrated.

Alright...you have a point

 

 

 

Waterworld is only underrated because everyone calls it trash. It's not a good movie, but it's not the worse movie ever made. Just the worse movie with a huge budget.

 

If it was a low budget movie it would've been ok, since it's a bad movie that's entertaining in a cheesy way. However, getting those results when you have a huge budget just makes it a bad movie.

[razazteca 0]

Speaking of Kevin Costner films, I enjoyed Tin Cup

 

Shawshank Redemption is a TNT classic you can watch this movie 8 times a month on Turner stations.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

I've never really heard anyone say much bad about Tin Cup...people just tend to ignore that a pretty entertaining movie was thrown into the post Dances With Wolves Costner run so that his burial will be complete.

 

However, IMO his best work came from around that time in A Perfect World.

[Ravenbomb 0]

40's: Dunno, I rarely hear anything about And Then There Were None

 

50's: Again, dunno, most of the movies I've seen from the 50's are called classics anyways

 

60's: Seconds. Not so much Underrated as Overlooked.

 

70's: Last House on the Left. I think 2 critics liked it, all the rest shit on it.

 

80's: Parenthood.

 

90's: Cube. Excellent sci-fi movie that is usually overlooked.

 

2000's: Tigerland.